LAWRENCE -- Commonwealth Motors was one of just three Massachusetts dealerships named to American Honda Motor Co.'s Honda President's Award for 2014.

Commonwealth Motors is a three-year winner of this distinction, which recognizes top-ranking Honda dealerships.

Achieving the award requires a yearlong commitment to attaining excellence in customer satisfaction, sales, training and facility image. More than 1,000 Honda dealerships participated in the 2013 program, with 173 earning dealership honors.

"At Honda, we have a passion for excellence that serves as the driving force behind everything we do for our valued customers," said John Mendel, executive vice president of automobile sales for Honda, in a statement. "The President's Award was introduced in 1995 as a way to challenge our dealerships to achieve the exacting standards Honda established for the brand."

Commonwealth Motors, known for its "Shop Us Last" slogan, carries a full line of Honda vehicles, including the Accord, Civic, CR-V, Cross Tour, Fit, Odyssey and Pilot. It also offers Chevrolet, Kia, Nissan and Volkswagen models, as well as pre-owned vehicles.

Cutting the lawn can be a tedious chore, so no-one wants to be doing it for longer than they must. The bods at Honda obviously feel the same way. The Honda Mean Mower has broken a Guinness World Record to become the world's fastest lawnmower.

The mower was put through its paces at the IDIADA Proving Ground, in Tarragona, Spain. It was driven by was Piers Ward of the BBC's Top Gear Magazine. Ward was required to perform two runs within an hour along a 100 m (328 ft) speed trap in both directions, with an average speed taken across both runs.

Ward set an average speed of 187.60 kph (116.57 mph), shy of the mower's cited top speed of 209 kph (130 mph) that was reported by Gizmag last year. His speed broke the previous record of 140 kph (87 mph), which Ward had also set using the Mean Mower. In addition to achieving a fastest average speed, a mower vying for the title has to be able to cut grass and, crucially, must also look like a lawnmower. Both of these criteria were also deemed to have been met.

The Mean Mower is based on a Honda HF2620 Lawn Tractor and was designed and built in the UK by Honda's British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) partner, Team Dynamics. A new 4130 chromoly (high carbon steel) chassis was added to provide a strong, but light, platform and the machine was powered by a 1,000-cc engine from a Honda VTR Firestorm. Bespoke suspension and wheels from an ATV were used in order to provide grip and keep the mower stable.

In order to keep weight to a minimum, the cutter deck was custom-made from fiberglass and the grass bag was used to contain the fuel tank, a high capacity oil cooler and a secondary water cooling radiator. It featured a custom-made Cobra sports seat, a Scorpion exhaust system and a steering rack taken from a Morris Minor, as well as a custom-made paddle shift six-speed gear system that was apparently included on the advice of British Touring Car champions Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden.

"The original brief for Mean Mower was to create the world’s fastest lawnmower – and now it officially is, by some distance!" says Kate Saxton, Honda Motor Europe's manager for European PR communications. "We are all delighted to hold a Guinness World Records title and we’d like to thank everyone who was involved in what has been a challenging yet incredibly exciting project."

Acura ILX Wins 2014 IntelliChoice Best Overall Value of the Year Award

Official release from Acura Media Newsroom:

ILX takes top spot in Premium Compact Passenger Car category

04/07/2014 – TORRANCE, Calif.

The Acura ILX luxury sports sedan has earned the 2014 IntelliChoice Best Overall Value of the Year Award in the Premium Compact Passenger Car category. The IntelliChoice award is based on analysis of every new model sold in the United States and identifies those that have low total ownership costs and lower than expected costs over time when compared to similar models.

“With great performance, premium features and a luxurious interior, ILX is the very definition of value on a luxury scale,” said Michael Accavitti, senior vice president and general manager of the Acura Division. “This Overall Best Value award demonstrates customers can step into luxury through this great gateway to the Acura lineup of luxury vehicles.”

With its high quality and well-appointed interior, ILX is smart, spacious and sporty. It offers numerous features important to luxury buyers, including a Keyless Access System with smart entry and push-button start, Pandora® interface and SMS text message function for easy connectivity, Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink®, and a power moonroof.

Additional standard equipment on the 2014 Acura ILX includes 17-inch alloy wheels, leather seating surfaces, an eight-way power driver’s seat, heated front seats and a Multi-Angle Rearview Camera. The ride experience is further enhanced by an audio-system subwoofer and an Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) system.

Also available on ILX is the AcuraLink™ Satellite Communication System, Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™, AcuraLink Real Time Weather™ with radar image maps and HomeLink.

Throughout the year, IntelliChoice aggregates and analyzes data on nearly 2400 vehicle models to determine its Best Overall Values. Data gathered from auto manufacturers, the U.S. government and third-party resources are used to determine the actual costs of ownership for each new vehicle over a five-year period. IntelliChoice then assigns a value rating to each vehicle and compares that rating to peer models to determine a Best Overall Value in each vehicle class. The Best Overall Value awards help consumers understand that the total cost to own a vehicle is influenced by a variety of factors beyond initial purchase price.

About Acura:Acura offers a full line of technologically advanced performance luxury vehicles through a network of 275 dealers within the United States. The Acura lineup features six distinctive models including the RLX luxury flagship sedan, the TL performance luxury sedan, the TSX Sport Wagon and sedan, the ILX compact luxury sedan, the RDX luxury crossover SUV, and the all-new MDX luxury sport utility vehicle.

LIBERTYVILLE, ILLINOIS – April 9, 2014—Acura is proud to annouce that Acura of Libertyville has earned Dealership of Distinction honors for its exceptional performance in 2013.

The annual award is presented to Acura dealerships that achieve excellence in all areas of operation that affect the client experience. The award is considered Acura’s highest dealership honor and denotes excellence in the brand’s dealer network. This is the twelfth year that Acura of Libertyville has earned this prestigious award.

Acura introduced the Dealership of Distinction award in 1987 to recognize Acura dealerships that consistently delivered an exceptional performance and exemplified the brand’s core values. Over the years, the criteria for earning the award have changed to align with Acura’s direction. In 2013, Acura made significant changes to the program criteria and introduced a new Dealership of Distinction trophy that depicts its never-eneding pursuit of excellence. Acura of Libertyville is amoung 93 Acura dealerships nationwide to earn recognition in 2013.

“The ability to set your dealership apart as the best of the best is no easy task for an Acura dealership,” says Jeff Conrad, vice president and general manager at Acura. “Our expectations are high to ensure we provide the ultimate client experience in the luxury automobile market. Earning Dealership of Distinction honors requires a yearlong commitment by every member of the dealership team. It’s important we recognize the efforts of those dealership employees, who are ultimately the face of Acura.

“I encourage you to visit Acura of Libertyville to experience the superior service offered by its award-winning employees. They can introduce you to the features and benefits of each of our Acura models, and they will stand by you through mainenance and service for years to come. This team has proven itself worthy of the title Dealership of Distinction. Stop in to see why.”

Glenn Bockwinkel, president, Acura of Libertyville said “Our philosophy has always been to treat each client as we would wish to be treated going through the auto sales or service process. I think you’ll find the passion and enthusiasm of each of our employees are unparalleled.”

Acura of Libertyville is located at 1620 S. Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville, Illinois and carries the full line of technologically advanced Acura performance vehicles, including the TL and RLX luxury sedans, the TSX sports sedan or wagon, the ILX perfromance sedan with hybrid option, the ZDX sports coupe, the RDX crossover with all-wheel drive, and the MDX luxury sport-utility vehicle.

Additional information about Acura of Libertyville and the Acura products can be found at www.AcuraLib.com.

Popular super-mini wins Budget Car Category in Women’s World Car of the Year Awards 2014

International voting panel made up of female motoring writers from 15 countries

Further plaudits for Jazz ahead of all-new model set for release in 2015

Honda’s ever-popular Jazz super-mini has triumphed at the recent Women’s World Car of the Year Awards, pipping the Kia Soul to the post to win the Budget Car Category.

Judged by a panel of prolific female journalists from 15 countries, including nine based in Europe, the awards considered ten different criteria including design and function, style and appeal, comfort, storage, and drive quality. Additionally, specific to these awards, other elements considered by the judging panel included the ‘wow’ factor, sex appeal and value for money; factors which all of the judges felt to be important to female car buyers. Now in their fifth year, the awards, organised by New Zealand’s Women’s World magazine, recognise the best cars in six categories including best family car, sports car, luxury car, SUV, green car and budget car.

Sandy Myhre, CEO and founder of the Women’s World Car of the Year comments: “Honda can be very proud of this achievement. It is very difficult for any car to be on our shortlist, women motoring writers are very discerning and to win a category is a significant accolade.”

Currently available with a choice of two economical 1.2 and 1.4 i-VTEC petrol engines or Honda’s super-efficient hybrid IMA technology, the award comes ahead of the arrival of an all-new model Jazz due to go on sale in Summer 2015. As part of Honda’s ‘small series’ range, the third generation European Jazz will be built on the company’s global compact platform, retaining the centre fuel tank layout found in the current model, as well as the Civic and recently-announced HR-V. Combined with the Honda’s highly versatile Magic Seats®, this space-saving layout delivers genuine customer benefits in terms of versatility, interior practicality and storage solutions. Additionally the new European model will offer improved fuel economy and higher performance thanks to its new next-generation Earth Dreams Technology engine.

The all-new 2015 Acura TLX has been recognized by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance with a ‘Best Value Award’ from the business and financial organization for 2015. The TLX has been named ‘Best New/Redesigned Car’ in the $40,000-$50,000 category.

Kiplinger’s Best Value Awards are the result of a comprehensive review of hundreds of vehicles that reveal the best values among the newest models. The award winners are selected based on a number of qualifications including price, performance, value, safety, roominess and driving impressions. Photos and information on the 2015 TLX and the other winning cars can be viewed at http://www.kiplinger.com/links/cars.

“The all-new TLX delivers thrilling performance with impeccable style, an extensive list of luxury features, and of course, value on a luxury scale,” said Michael Accavitti, vice president and general manager, Acura Division. “As Acura’s sedan line-up continues to strengthen, the marketplace is taking notice, and we are honored to receive this recognition from Kiplinger’s.”

In addition to being named a ‘Best Value’ by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the all-new 2015 Acura TLX recently earned the TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The 2015 Acura TLX is the first Acura model to be equipped with AcuraWatch™, a comprehensive suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies with leading-edge road-sensing and collision-mitigation capabilities, including pedestrian sensing.

Since the arrival of the TLX to dealerships in August 2014, the TLX has quickly become one of Acura’s best-selling models. Designed to deliver a unique and compelling blend of sports-sedan dynamic proportion, premium luxury refinement and super-handling performance, the TLX is appealing to a broad cross-section of luxury customers with three all-new powertrains and advanced chassis technologies that respond intelligently to the will of the driver. The TLX lineup features three distinct model offerings that deliver new levels of quietness and ride comfort for a luxurious driving experience.

For the fourth year in a row, Edmunds.com has placed Acura as the top Luxury brand in its Best Retained Value® Awards.

“The awards recognize the brands and models that have the highest projected private party residual value five years after their launch, expressed as a percentage of their average True Market Value®.”

Acura won the luxury division in 2015 with a projected five-year residual value of 46.9 percent. The Acura ILX and Acura RDX both received segment awards, winning the Entry Luxury Car and Entry Luxury SUV segments respectively. The Acura MDX was an Honorable Mention in the Midrange Luxury SUV segment.

Acura NSX Wins a “Best of What’s New” Award By Popular Science Magazine

Official release from Acura Media Newsroom:

Next-Generation Acura NSX Named a ‘Best of What’s New’ Winner By Popular Science Magazine

Nov 18, 2015 – TORRANCE, Calif.

The next-generation Acura NSX supercar, launching in the spring, has received a 2015 “Best of What’s New” award from Popular Science magazine for its advanced, new approach to electrified supercar technology.

“The Acura NSX challenges conventional notions of supercar performance, and it’s great to see our advanced Acura performance technologies receive this kind of recognition,” said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of Acura. “With its three-motor Sport Hybrid powertrain, the NSX is propelling Acura performance in an amazing new direction and we can’t wait to share the results with our customers.”

Foremost among its many innovations is the NSX’s Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive powertrain, the first of its kind in the supercar realm. Its three electric motors enhance all aspects of dynamic performance — acceleration, cornering and braking – in numerous ways, including “direct yaw control,” the continuous, dynamic distribution of electric motor torque.

Marrying this advanced and electrified new expression of Acura performance with timeless elements of NSX design, including innovative body construction and superior cabin ergonomics, the next-generation NSX delivers a New Sports eXperience that faithfully translates the inputs of the driver with incredible fidelity and zero delay.

“The Best of What’s New awards honor the innovations that surprise and amaze us—those that challenge our view of what’s possible in the future,” said Cliff Ransom, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. “The award is Popular Science’s top prize, and the 100 winners—chosen from among thousands of nominees—are each a revolution in their respective fields.”

For the past 28 years, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top tech innovations of the year. “Best of What’s New” awards are presented to breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in one of 12 categories: Automotive, Aviation, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, Green, Entertainment, Security, Software, Home, Health and Recreation. The Acura NSX and all “Best of What’s New” winners are featured in the December issue of Popular Science, available now.

All-new Honda Jazz awarded with Euro NCAP’s Best in Class Supermini 2015 Honda Jazz achieved a 5-star safety rating from Euro NCAP in November 2015 All grades of new Honda Jazz equipped with Honda’s City-Brake Active system as standard

The all-new Honda Jazz has been awarded with independent safety organisation Euro NCAP’s prestigious Best in Class 2015 award in the supermini category. Earlier in 2015 the Honda Jazz achieved a maximum 5-star safety rating. Jazz took the title from a field of nine superminis in total.

Each year, Euro NCAP publishes a list of cars that have performed the best in their respective categories. To achieve a ‘Best in Class’ award from Euro NCAP, cars from each category are assessed against a weighted sum of the scores in each of the four key areas of assesment: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Pedestrian and Safety assist. This sum is used as the basis for comparison of the vehicles.

Secretary General, Dr. Michiel van Ratingen of Euro NCAP commented, “Euro NCAP congratulates Honda for the Jazz, which received the Best in Class of 2015 in the supermini category. The award recognizes the Jazz’s five star performance and Honda’s safety equipment strategy which make it the top performer in this segment.”

Additionally the Jazz features Honda’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, designed to redirect collision energy away from the passenger compartment, while minimising the damage caused to other impacted vehicles.

“We are thrilled to have the Jazz named as the Best in Class supermini 2015 by Euro NCAP,” said Honda Motor Europe senior vice president, Philip Ross. “Honda is committed to providing customers with high quality products that meet the most stringent safety standards in Europe. This commitment to safety is highlighted by each Honda model available in Europe – Civic, CR-V, Jazz and the HR-V – achieving the full 5-star rating from Euro NCAP. 2015 was a big year for Honda and we have seen the Jazz and our other new products being embraced and appreciated by the customers, as well as organisations such as Euro NCAP.”

Editors Notes

About Euro NCAP

Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe

Established in 1997 and now backed by seven European Governments, the European Commission and motoring and consumer organizations in every EU country, Euro NCAP has rapidly become a catalyst for encouraging safety improvements to new car design.

Euro NCAP’s star rating scheme focuses on the vehicle4s’ overall safety performance which gives consumers an easy to understand single score. The current rating scheme, introduced in January 2015, uses a weighted score, combining many aspects of a car’s safety performance: adult (40%), child (20%) and pedestrian (20%) protection assessment results with the availability of safety assistance devices (20%).

Premium With a Purpose: Acura the 2017 Top-rated Luxury Brand for 5-Year Cost of Ownership Says Kelley Blue Book

Feb 8, 2017

TORRANCE, Calif. – For the second year in a row, Acura has earned the 5-Year Cost to Own Luxury Brand award presented by Kelley Blue Book (https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/5-year-cost-to-own-awards/). The honor highlights vehicles with the lowest projected ownership costs, based on Kelley Blue Book’s 5-Year Cost to Own data for new cars in the initial five-year ownership period.

The Acura lineup placed first or second in more than half of the seven total 5-Year Cost to Own factors, which include the upfront cost of the vehicle, depreciation, finance and insurance fees, expected fuel costs, maintenance and repair costs, and state fees.

“This award demonstrates, once again, that the exceptional quality and reliability of Acura products lead the luxury segment,” said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of Acura.

Advanced three-Motor Sport Hybrid powertrain is named ‘Best New Engine’ by expert judging panel NSX’s 3.5-litre V6 powertrain engineered to be the most advanced high performance power unit Award-winning engine central to ‘instant response’ philosophy that defines the New Sports eXperience

Honda’s 3.5-litre gasoline-electric V6 hybrid powertrain has won the ‘Best New Engine’ title at the 2017 International Engine of the Year Awards. The awards, presented by Engine Technology International magazine, are now in their 19th year and are judged by a panel of experts from around the world.

Engines were judged on characteristics including performance, noise, driveability, fuel economy and smoothness. Honda’s NSX powertrain was named as the winner of the the ‘Best New Engine’ accolade.

The overarching aim of the Honda NSX powertrain development programme was to create the most advanced high performance power unit in the world. Honda set out to produce an engine with the best possible performance, but which was also easy to enjoy and control.

One of the most significant challenges in the development programme was the integration of electric drive elements to create a truly high-performance hybrid vehicle. The result is an engine with instantaneous torque response, where the electric motors are used to enhance every element of the car’s dynamic capabilities.

Hayashi-san, Honda R&D Europe President, said: “It is a great honour to receive this award. The NSX was developed as the pinnacle product of the Honda Motor Company, demonstrating Honda’s passion and commitment to providing a New Sports eXperience. We are delighted that the NSX has been evaluated so highly, and that it has won the award for the ‘Best New Engine’ of 2017.”

The International Engine of the Year Awards consist of eight class categories. To qualify for inclusion, an engine must have appeared in a passenger car that was on sale in more than one country as of June 2017.

It is the second time Honda has tasted success in the “sport auto” awards with the previous generation, 2015 Civic Type R also claiming ‘Best Import Compact Sports Car’.

The new Civic Type R accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds and features an optimised 2.0 VTEC TURBO engine, bringing 320PS to the road. Top speed is an increased 272 km/h with multi-link rear suspension and optimised aerodynamics package providing superior high-speed stability.

Honda SENSING is standard across the Civic range and is one of the most comprehensive safety packages in its class, featuring Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Keeping Assist and intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control.

Honda Civic Type R claims hat trick of honours Civic Type R also wins hot hatch and international editors’ car of the year A global win for the car with international editors voting

The Honda Civic Type R has triumphed in the coveted BBC TopGear magazine Car of the Year awards, taking a hat-trick of honours. Picking up the hot hatch of the year, international editors’ car of the year and then going on to claim the overall prize, car of the year.

The awards issue of BBC TopGear Magazine is their annual celebration of the very best cars of the year. As the world’s largest monthly car magazine, this year their awards went global with the editors of all 22 of their international editions voting for their favourite cars of the year.

Built in Swindon, the Civic Type R shares the same fundamentals as the new Civic hatchback and has been engineered from the ground up to deliver the most rewarding drive in the hot-hatch segment – both on road and on the race track.

“The Civic Type R isn’t just the best Hot Hatch of the Year, it’s the best Car of the Year," said BBC TopGear magazine. “It’s addictive, rhythmic and devastatingly rapid; a true hero for the masses delivering accessibility and madness in one package. The thrill comes from the sheer single-mindedness of it.”

“To score a hat trick of awards at the BBC TopGear’s Car of the Year awards is a great honour,” says Philip Ross, Senior Vice President, Honda Motor Europe. “The new Civic Type R is a complete package, providing customers with performance, rewarding driving experience and best-in-class practicality. The greatest thanks for this achievement goes to the engineers, designers and the associates at the factory building the cars. Without them and the one Honda mentality, this would not have been possible”

The Civic Type R has a top speed of 169mph and can do the 0-62mph sprint in just 5.7 seconds. The power comes from the 2.0-litre VTEC TURBO engine that has been optimised and refined to produce 320 PS with peak torque of 400 Nm.

Chicago, Illinois (Feb. 8, 2018) – The Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) announced today at the Chicago Auto Show that the 2018 Honda Odyssey has been named the winner of its eighth annual Family Vehicle of the Year award.

MAMA is a nonprofit group of automotive journalists and public relations professionals, and it developed the award to help car-shopping families make a wise decision when they’re ready for a new vehicle.

“Choosing a family vehicle is an important decision. It should be versatile, reliable, efficient, and reasonably priced. MAMA members pooled their expertise and experience to select the best family vehicle from an outstanding group of new and significantly refreshed models, and the Honda Odyssey came out on top,” said award coordinator Tim Healey.

To qualify for the award, vehicles had to have four doors, start at less than $50,000, appear at one of MAMA’s two annual rallies, and be new or significantly updated within a year of the 2017 Spring Rally, which took place last May. The MAMA Spring and Fall Rallies feature roughly 100 manufacturer vehicles for journalists to drive and evaluate.

In each round of voting, three points were awarded for a first-place vote, two points were given for a second-place vote and third-place votes were valued at one point each.

MAMA members then voted in one final round, and 94 automotive journalists selected the 2018 Honda Odyssey as the winner with 85 points, narrowly edging out the 2018 Volvo XC60, which garnered 84 points. The 2018 Volkswagen Atlas placed third with 72 points.

Voting for the 2019 Family Vehicle of the Year award will begin at the 2018 MAMA Spring Rally, which is scheduled for May 23-24 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The MAMA Fall Rally is tentatively scheduled for October 3 at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois.

New for 2019, MAMA President Jill Ciminillo announced that the association will be adding a Luxury Family Vehicle of the Year Award.

“We are excited to expand the Family Vehicle awards for 2019,” Ciminillo said. “Adding a luxury category allows us to help a broader range of families select the best vehicles that will meet their needs.”

For more information about the Midwest Automotive Media Association, please visit www.mamaonline.org.

About the Midwest Automotive Media Association Founded in 1991, and now in its 27th year, the Midwest Automotive Media Association comprises 269 automotive journalists and public relations professionals from 25 states, D.C. and Canada. Though based in the Chicago area, MAMA welcomes members from all parts of the country. The organization’s primary purpose is to provide a forum for newsworthy people, major issues, and new products in the auto industry.

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2018 North American Car, Truck, And Utility Of The Year: And The Winners Are…

The ‘Oscars of the automotive industry’ have been handed over to the big winners at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show.

One of the vehicles that managed to stand out in the 2018 North American Car of the Year awards, turning out to be more popular than the other two finalists – Kia Stinger and Toyota Camry, is the new generation Honda Accord.

Unveiled last summer and launched a few months later, it has a more modern styling and higher-tech cabin with new technologies, including 4G LTE connectivity and wireless smartphone charger, and three powertrains, including a hybrid.

Receiving top honors from the jurors is the new Volvo XC60, which walked home with the 2018 Utility of the Year award.

The small luxury SUV faced the Honda Odyssey and Alfa Romeo Stelvio in the final, but it managed to impress the 60 jurors from the United States and Canada, who appreciated its “safety and driver assistance systems” in “a package that exudes Scandinavian design”, according to the NACTOY President, Mark Phelan.

Last, but definitely not least, the Lincoln Navigator has been named 2018 North American Truck of the Year, being favored over the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and Ford Expedition.

This is the first time a Lincoln vehicle walks home with such an award, making the brand’s President, Kumar Galhotra, say that the team “is honored to be named the best among such a strong field of competitors”.

The road to the 2019 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year will start this summer, when the nominees will be announced in each category.